The valence electron configurations of several atoms are
shown h...

Question

The valence electron configurations of several atoms are 
shown here. How many bonds can each atom make without 
hybridization? 
b. P 3s23p3

Accepted Answer

hey everyone in this example, we need to determine the maximum number of bonds for the following element based on its shown electron configuration. So we want to go ahead and recall that our s sublevel. We have the three S sub level here. So we're in the third energy level. We have the exploitative to which is signaling that we fill in our two electrons maximum in our S sublevel. And then we would recall that our three P sub level contains a total of three orbital's in which we can hold a maximum of six electrons. But because we have three P four as our subscript that tells us that we filled in a total of four of these electrons in these three orbital's. So following Hunt's rule, we would fill in our four electrons in the following fashion where we fill in one in the first orbital one in the second orbital one in the third orbital and then we pair up the fourth electron in the first orbital. And so this leaves us with two um paired electrons. And so we would say that therefore with hybridization, sulfur can form two bonds. However, we can also answer this question by recognizing that sulfur is a period three element. And so therefore it can have an expanded octet. And so because sulfur can have an expanded octet, we would say that sulfur can form six bonds total. And so this would actually be our final answer here without hybridization. So this is going to be our final answer corresponding to the multiple choice option C in our question. So I hope that everything I went through is clear. If you have any questions, please leave them down below, and I will see everyone in the next practice video.

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